Battle of Stratham

The Battle of Stratham was a battle of the American Revolutionary War that took place on 2 July 1775 in Stratham, New Hampshire when General George Washington and the Continental Army embarked on a campaign to capture Falmouth, Maine from Great Britain. Washington attacked General William Howe's British army outside of Falmouth shortly after the victory at Bunker Hill, and the decisive American victory allowed the Americans to accept the surrender of Falmouth without violence.

Background
On 17 June 1775, the Patriots were defeated at the Battle of Bunker Hill, but the British suffered heavy losses and were forced to evacuate Boston, which became the temporary capital of the patriots. George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army shortly after, and he assumed command of the army in Massachussetts. The army consisted of hardened troops from Bunker Hill, and the closest threat to the Americans was William Howe's British and loyalist army in New Hampshire, not far from the provincial capital of Falmouth, Maine. Washington's 1,020 troops marched north from Massachusetts, where they met Howe's 327 troops, which included some Tories from New Hampshire in the form of provincial cavalry.

Battle
Washington decided to attack while he had the initiative, rather than wait for reinforcements from Boston under Nathanael Greene to arrive to assist him. Washington had his cavalry charge the British artillery, leading to a clash between the Tory and Patriot cavalrymen, resulting in the British infantry moving across a field to attack the Americans. The patriot Continentals met the British regulars in battle, and the ensuing encounter saw the Americans fire at the British at point-blank range before the regiment of minutemen at the front charged the British, who were approximately twenty feet from them. The ensuing encounter saw the Americans overwhelm the British regulars, and the Americans destroyed Howe's army. The British were forced to retreat as the Americans charged the panicking British troops, and the British and Tories were forced to retreat to Falmouth.

Aftermath
The American victory at Stratham cleared the way for Washington's army to move on to Falmouth, and the patriots laid siege to the city shortly after. One battered regiment of British regulars was garrisoned with some firelock armed citizenry, and the British garrison accepted Washington's offer of free passage out of the city, and the one regiment moved north to Brunswick and then towards British Canada to the north.